A spiritual assessment may help the doctor understand how religious or spiritual beliefs will affect the way a patient copes with cancer.

A spiritualassessment is a method or tool used by doctors to understand the role that religious and spiritual beliefs have in the patient's life. This may help the doctor understand how these beliefs affect the way the patient responds to the cancerdiagnosis and decisions about cancer treatment. Some doctors or caregivers may wait for the patient to bring up spiritual concerns. Others may use an interview or a questionnaire.